Halo: Recon (set inbetween Halo 3 and Halo 4)
by Miles Kilo
Summary: The UNSC battle group Aurora consisting of the UNSC Paris, Redoubtable and Coral Sea, were part of the Earth Defense Force and were sent with the In Amber Clad to follow the Prophet of Regret into slipspace. But they missed the drop zone and no contact has been heard since. An SOS was received from the Khaphrae system and Spartans 087, 104 and 058 are sent to investigte.
1. Chapter 1

2553, 6 months since the official ceasefire of the war with the Covenant

Memorial hill near mount Kilimanjaro, Earth

Chief is dead. I still couldn't bring myself to say it. I thought he would be the last of us the sole survivor of the Spartan II project but he isn't and neither am I. Fred took it harder than either of us he's still standing up their looking at Johns number scratched onto the memorial. Spartans aren't listed as KIA only WIA or MIA but we all knew everyone was dead Joshua, Samuel, Solomon, Arthur, John, Kurt. I turn to talk to Linda when I noticed a young senior officer approaching us. As he strode through the grass towards us I could tell he never saw a Spartan before, he had a combination of fear and excitement on his face. "Lord Hood has requested you on the UNSC Infinity" he said to us as he saluted.

"It sounded urgent ma'am" as he turned around to escort us to the pelican. Me and Linda immediately head for the pelican now landing several yards away. I looked back to Fred who was saying his final goodbyes to the Chief. As we reached the pelican Fred had already caught up to us and jumped inside the troop bay ahead of us. "You okay" I said comforting him. His helmet concealed his expression but I think he was still upset about John after all he was Fred best friend still alive. "I will be Kelly I will be."


	2. Chapter 2

20 minutes later, on the bridge of the UNSC Infinity

"Attention on deck officer on the bridge." everyone stood at attention as Lord Hood and Captain Del Rio entered the bridge. "At ease" Hood said as they strode over to us.

"Sir the Spartans have been assembled as requested sir" XO Laskey gave and emphasis on last sir probably trying to impress Hood. "Thank you XO you are dismissed" Hood turned his attention to us.

"Sir" Laskey then joined Del Rio at the helm

"I'm sure you're wondering why I've gathered you here" he said

"Did the Covenant decide to grow some balls back" I said sarcastically

"hah" Hood laughed "know but I'll tell you first when they do Spartan… what's your name?"

"Spartan-087 sir" I said saluting

"No your real name Spartan" he said more baritone.

"Kelly-087 sir"

"nice to meet you Kelly, who are these two?

"Linda-058 and Fred-104 sir"

"Linda, Fred pleasure to meet you"

"Sir" they said in unison saluting

"let's quit" the formalities I'm sending you three on a Search and Rescue in the Khaphrae system."

"who are we rescuing?" Fred said

"the UNSC battle group Aurora, UNSC Paris, UNSC Redoubtable and UNSC Coral Sea, was part of the Earth Defense Force that were sent with the In Amber Clad to follow the Prophet of Regret into slipspace. But they missed the drop zone and we have lost contact with them" Hood said as he directed them over the galaxy map of the Khaphrae system.

"they were picked the Khaphrae system by a remote transmitter but we lost contact 36 hours ago. We sent the UNSC Say My Name and a contingent of ODSTs to search for the ships but we have lost contact with them aslwell. Your mission is to locate the Battle Group Aurora and Say My Name and reestablish communications with the ships. We believe direct action will be necessary and who's better to rescue the rescue and three highly trained Spartans."

"Sir isn't the Khaphrae system still under Sangheili control?" Fred said gravely.

"yes which is why I am sending two top tier assets with you" Hood looks back to the bridge entrance as two Sangheili enter the bridge and approach them. "Spartans let me introduce you to N'tho 'Sraom a special operations solider and Usze 'Taham a high ranking Sangheili Commander."

"how many Demons are there Commander Taham I though the Chief was the last of them" said the younger one named N'tho.

"I do not know 'Sraom I though the Arbiter said they were wiped out" said the large one, Usze.

"the arbiter has been misinformed then there are still a few of us still kickin" I said angrily.

"the demon is female commander why do they let their women fight aren't the males already weak" said Sraom scanning Kelly's armor.

"careful N'tho their females can be as ferocious as the males like the Kig-Yar" said Usze taking a step away from him and the Spartans.

"I have never fought a Kig-Yar but I shall take your word on it Commander" said Sraom respectively nodding towards Kelly.

"Sir why do we need the Sangheili assistance on this mission" Fred uttered irritated "are three Spartans on the Infinity not intimidating enough."

"the Sangheili are here because they are at peace with us and I would prefer to settle this matter peacefully with however it is that are attacking are ships"

"there are many Sangheili ships that are unaware of the ceasefire and could be attacking your ships" said Usze defensively.

"or they are aware of the ceasefire and are just attacking our ships anyway" Fred said aggressively.

"your anger is unnecessary demon are species are allies now it was not us who killed the chief" Usze said handling his plasma pistol.

"enough both of you we don't need a firefight in the bridge" said Hood stepping between them. Usze dropped his hand and nodded still eyeing Fred who retreated back to the galaxy map.

"as I was saying the Sangheili will accompany you on this mission and this is under Sangheili jurisdiction and Commander Taham is in charge here" Hood said

"that is unexpected Shipmaster" Usze said to hood shockingly "a am grateful you would allow me to rescue your ships and command your demons" while bowing respectively.

"it's the least I could do after you saved earth with the Chief" Hood replied also bowing.


	3. Chapter 3

30 minutes later in Infinites main hangar.

After the briefing me, Fred and Linda headed to the armory wear the Master Gunnery Sergeant has the new Mark VI armor. Linda got a set of the Scout armor variant which has advanced materials that give it stealth capabilities perfect for her Lone Wolf tactics with her SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle. Fred got the CQB Variant which is designed specifically for close combat by making joints more mobile and including additional attachments for additional close quarters equipment, since he favors a M90 shotgun along with his MA5C. I stuck to the basics and got the EVA Variant is designed specifically for extra-vehicular combat, it's almost exactly the same as the regular Mark VI but It has more rounded features and improved armor plating that self-seals which is good for my running and gunning tactics with my BR55HB SR Battle Rifle. Afterwards we headed to the hangar where 'Sraom and 'Taham were waiting with the ship, it's called the UNSC Fearless and is some kind of upgraded UNSC corvette. When we reached the hangar we could tell the corvette had some extensive upgrades. Two Huragok were hovering outside the ship waiting for our arrival_. Hello Spartans 104, 058 and 087 we are this ships resident Huragok and we are prepared to assist you on your mission__**, **_said the lead one, _I am Improvement On Floatation and this is Requires Buoyancy we will wait inside until you require us,_ the other one said. They then floated back into the ship as 'Sraom, 'Taham and an ODST in CQB armor with UA/CNM and CBRN/HUL upgrades and Digital Autumn colored camouflage approach from the elevator. The ODST and 'Sraom strode passed us and went into the ship while 'Taham stopped to speak to us. "Be careful around the pilot she gets sensitive around her creation" he then walked into the ship without an explanation.

"what did he mean by that?" Fred said as they boarded the ship

"I don't know but we shouldn't discuss life with our pilot" I said as the bay doors closed.


	4. Chapter 4

"jump in 5…4…3…2…" the ship went into slipspace faster than anything Kelly or the other felt before. It lurched them forward in their seats and nearly pulled 'Taham and 'Sraom out of the small human seat they were seating in. "what the hell…" Fred said falling unconscious in his seat. "what did the Huragok do to the slipspace drive" shouted 'Taham as 'Sraom harness broke flinging him into the console next to Kelly. Still strapped into her seat Kelly pulls the limp 'Sraom into the empty chair next to her and harnessed him in. Linda who is on the other side of Kelly dropped her head and appeared to have fallen asleep.

Kelly in the excitement begins to laugh as the Huragok floated passed completely unaware of the speed of the ship, _to answer your question Commander 'Taham we have upgraded the drives to quadruple the speed and accuracy of the slipspace but we were unable to change the ship gravity before the AI began the _…, the rest was drowned out from the screaming of 'Sraom as he awakened upside down in his seat. "turn off the gravity" he shrieked as he undid his harness flinging himself up against a bulkhead_. Very well removing the ships gravity_, replied Improvement as they float over to the environmental controls. Suddenly the pressure against crew subsides and they begin to float from lack of gravity.

"what did the Huragok mean by AI" asks Kelly as the ODST unharnesses and floats over to the environmental controls next to the Huragok. "they mean me" said the ODST "my names Kyla I was the Intelligence onboard the UNSC Hannibal" she said as the gravity came back on adjusted to the slipspace drives. 'Sraom landed hard on is head as Kelly and Taham began to unfastened their harnesses. "If you're an AI who is in the ODST armor" said Kelly as she stood up. Kayla turned around and slowly took off her helmet to reveal a faceless robot head and circuitry. "a UNSC maintenance robot, we had some of them to repair the exterior haul of the Hannibal."

"I use it as a mobile hardware station so I'm not stuck on some ship" she said as she put the helmet back on.

"uuh… what happened" said Fred as he began to awaken. Kelly didn't reply she was to trisected on the AI she didn't know what it was but her voice made her feel something happy, excitement, wonder she never felt it before but she wanted to hear her talk again. "why are you here didn't the captain of the Hannibal follow the Cole Protocol?" she said longing to hear Kayla's voice. Kayla didn't answer right away she seemed to think about it for a second her black visor concealed her more than her armor. "he tried but I wouldn't let him" she said "I was going through a difficult time so much destruction death an on my last commissioned flight before I would be resigned from duty." Kelly's eyes widened "you went Rampant."

"yes I did but I didn't kill the crew the ship was already boarded the ship was nearly depressurized I just override the control systems so he wouldn't relive me of duty."

"I thought AI's go insane when going Rampant they only care about themselves" Kelly said still astonished. "we due but human brains can be healed… that's what 'Taham did when they found me." Taham gave a slight nod to her while Linda began to wake up.

"why do you want to help us" said Kelly more understanding

"because I found my purpose was to help others" Kayla said calmly checking her wrist, she was wearing a Point Defense Gauntlets in place of the ODST gauntlet on her right arm. She still used the ODST M7S Submachine Gun and M6C/SOCOM pistol. "don't mind me asking but aren't maintenance robots half the size of humans and I don't remember then having advanced computer storage and AI requires?" Fred asks still disoriented.

"I made some modifications and adjustments since Reach" Kayla says annoyed "I had some Huragok shrink everything to fit into the armor."

"aren't the better armor permutations" 'Sraom says still cradling his head "like a Sangheili combat harness?"

"I'm human humans can't wear Sangheili armor" Kayla says angrily leaving the bridge "I'll be in the armory if anyone needs me" she said as the doors close behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

UNSC Fearless armory 1 hour later approximately 30 minutes to the Khaphrae system

Kayla could monitor the entire crew from the armory it was one of the perks of being intelligence she saw Fred and Taham going over tactics on the bridge, 'Sraom was in the infirmary bandaging his head wound, Linda was in crew quarters cleaning her unfired rifle require and improvement were adjusting the environmental controls perfecting the ships gravity and Kelly was right outside the armory door. "can I come in" said Kelly as the doors opened "I didn't mean to call you artificial it's just that…"

"I know everyone does it, it's not your fault" Kayla replied calming herself down by erasing top secret files at ONI's Sector-6 base in Sydney no one could read them anyway she thought as she turned around removing her helmet. "Why do you have a neural interface in the robot" Kelly asked noticing it when she took off her helmet. "so if the robot gets damage someone can rescue me again" she said regretfully "I'm no good at surviving someone always needs to come to the rescue."

"that's not true you survived Rampan…" Kelly's voice trailed off at the end "a mental breakdown" she added.

"thanks" said Kayla now reassured "you're the first person to say that."

"how long did the Covenant hold you" asked Kelly knowing Kayla wanted to change the subject. "never a wasn't a captive I went AWOL I abandoned my ship gave critical Intel to the Covenant on the Inner Colonies" she sighed

"not Earth" said Kelly more charismatic than Kayla anticipated

"I wanted the war over so I good go home not the extinction of our species." There was a long silence after that neither of them knew what to say. Kayla begins to repair her right arm gauntlet and Kelly looks at the extensive hardware in the armory. Besides the standard UNSC weaponry and explosives there were some Sangheili weapons as well there was a row of 8 Type-51 Carbines and half a dozen Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapons and a pair of T50 DER/H. One of the weapons did stick out to Kelly however "Is that a particle beam rifle" she asked.

"yeah its Type-50 Sniper Rifle System the Sangheili don't use them but I keep one around just in case, I'm sure your friend Linda could find a use for it."

"so what do the Sangheili use"

"Sraom uses a Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle and a Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol while 'Taham usually prefers dual Type-33 Guided Munitions Launchers and a Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword. I also prerequisite several Type-31 needle rifles,T51 DER/I's and a T52 GML/E in case we ran into trouble."

"do you think will run into trouble"

"I think it's a 60% chance that whatever it is would be immediately hostile towards us yes so we should be prepared for anything."

"I'm glad you got a plasma repeater then" said Kelly picking up the rifle "I used one during Operation: First Strike" before I was kidnapped.

"by Dr. Halsey"

"yeah Captain Osman gave me my file about the Spartan program, how I was kidnapped when I was six and how my parents both committed suicide after my clone died from multiple organ failure." Kelly said putting down the rifle

"that… must have been difficult" Kayla said putting her hand on Kelly's shoulder comforting her. Kelly put her hand on Kayla's they stayed like that for several minutes. Kelly took off her helmet and looked into the ODST visor Kayla could she her expression, desire. Kelly but her head on Kayla's shoulder feeling the emotions fading while something else built up inside her. She began to cry she tried not to but she did she hadn't cried since she was six and her father wouldn't by something she didn't even remember. She cried for her parents who she hardly remembered, she cried for all of her friends who had died during the war she cried for nearly dying during the Spartan augmentation procedures, and she cried for Kayla who was never going to have a physical body for her to feel.


	6. Chapter 6

12 minutes later UNSC Fearless armory 8 minutes to Khaphrae system

Kelly new she had to she put her helmet back on just as 'Taham and Fred wandered into the armory for the briefing. The only thing she wanted to do was hold onto Kayla and cry, to go back to Sigma Octanus IV were I was born. Sigma Octanus IV survived a Covenant attack it was still habitable she could go back there and try to find her relatives there, but she was a Spartan and Kayla was an AI it whatever it could be would never happen. She fought on Sigma Octanus IV once, she and the other Spartans detonated a HAVOK Nuclear Warhead destroying the city of Côte d'Azur in 2552. After Linda and 'Sraom entered 'Taham begins the briefing. "recent satellite imagery shows the UNSC Say My Name is orbiting the dying planet Sovereign-075, they is still no communication with the ship and the emergency response beacon has not been activated."

"the Battle group Aurora has not been seen yet in orbit and they could have landed on the volcanic surface" Fred adds

"the UNSC Province and Aegis Fate have been authorized to provide assistance if necessary, the Arbiter has also dispatched the ship Glorified Ascension with a contingent of Spec Ops teams to assist us as well" 'Taham says. After the briefing 'Sraom and Taham take their weapons 'Taham also takes a Type-31 needle rifle and leave heading to the Bridge while Linda, Fred and Kelly choose their weapons from the vast array of firearms. "that's a lot of firepower" Fred says looking at the Sangheili weapons racks. Linda takes her SRS99D-S2 AM and picks up the Type-50 Sniper Rifle System as Improvement and Requires enter the armory w_ait Spartans we have modified your_ _weapons. Your MA5Cs has been modified to hold 60 rounds of ammunition improved accuracy and range, damaged output faster rate of fire and we have removed the weapons climb and drift, we found it necessary_. Kelly and Linda take there MA5Cs and sling them on their backs Linda puts the particle beam rifle back and walks out heading for the bridge_. 087 your rifle has also been modified for better accuracy and rate of fire and 60 rounds of ammunition. _Kelly picks up her BR55HB SR and walks out to the bridge followed by Kayla. _104 we have attached your M90 to the underbarrel of your MA5C it has 60 rounds of ammunition a tighter spread but it is still highly effective at close range, we found the weapons reloading mechanism time consuming so each 60 rounds are clip fed like the MA5C. _Fred brandishes the dual weapon feeling no change in the weight he picks up a Sangheili T51 DER/I for his new secondary and walks out.


	7. Chapter 7

8 minutes later UNSC Fearless bridge

"Reentry in 5…4…3…2" the UNSC Fearless enters space much smoothly than previously, the Huragok had finished modifying the ship and have gone on to modify the ships pelican, Royal. "ETA to Say My Name in 10 minutes" says Kayla on the PA system. Fred goes to use the head, 'Sraom and 'Taham are heading to the hanger discussing how a Type-31 needle rifle found its way into the ship, both of them fondly remembering the weapon, and Linda is stashing her gear in the M12 Force Application Vehicle attached to the Pelican. Kelly is in the observation deck with Kayla overlooking the dying planet Sovereign. "It's beautiful isn't it" said Kelly breaking the silence. "Yeah there's something about the molten volcanic surface of a dying planet that makes me feel all warm and cozy inside" Kelly said sarcastically.

"you know what I mean the reds and oranges of the fire mixing with the brown rock surface make the fire stand out… like you" Kelly said almost whispering the ending. Kelly took her helmet off and Kayla could see she was blushing. "I wish I could see you the real you" Kelly said turning to face Kayla "I have never felt this way about anybody before and I'm…" she trailed off, "your what" Kayla said taking Kelly's hands in hers

"I'm scared"

"why?"

"why not"

"because I feel the same way about you," Kelly and Kayla made eye contacted "would you like to see me" said Kayla letting go

"of course I would" Kelly said as Kayla takes he helmet off. Kayla used the environmental controls to sense that Kelly's heart rate had quickened and that she had adrenaline rush, she did to she knew since she was different she couldn't and didn't know what it felt like but she knew she did something inside her began to panic to fear what could what would happen next but she knew Kelly felt the same way and she didn't need the environmental controls to tell her that. Kayla took out her data chip and plugged it into the nearby terminal in the ships lunge bar. For a 18th of a millisecond she transferred all of her data into the terminal and then there she was only a small figure due to the size of the terminal port but she quickly override the overhead spot lights to make a life size version of herself and that's when Kelly's heart beat skipped a pace. She appeared as a women about 6.9ft which was slightly smaller than Kelly who was 7.2ft she had bright purple hair put up in a ponytail, bright red skin with bright blue curving down her body to her palms and heels. Her eyes were the most distracting they were a bright green like a cats that jumped out because of their brightness. Kayla dimmed the lights and Kelly noticed her eyes reflected like and animal, Kelly's adrenaline rose slightly as she followed the tattoos to realize Kayla was naked. The details of her body were so precise Kayla saw that Kelly's heart rate nearly doubled. Kayla quickly remodeled her figure so that she was wearing a small towel that covered her physique but was tight enough to so her curves. "I've sent word to our support we are requesting aid to board the Say My Name it should give us 6 hours"

"that's a lot of time don't you think" said Kelly stepping closer to Kayla "what do you plan on doing to me in six hours" she said stepping closure.

"I don't know a lot could happen" said Kayla putting her hands on Kelly's cheeks. Kelly could feel a slight shock and a bit of static from her hand but that was all, Kayla lead in putting her face less than a centimeter away. Kelly could almost feel her warm breath and soft touch but only felt a slight static shock and a faint buzzing noise from the electrons flying in the air. "close your eyes so I can touch you" whispered Kayla in Kelly's ear. Kelly kept her eyes half open "put you can't" she said feeling a slight prick on the back of her head.

"trust me close your eyes" said Kayla her voice fading. As Kelly closed her eyes she saw Kayla fad away and disappear, for a brief moment Kelly didn't know what had happened the observation deck was empty and the lights were turned off but the sudden surge of pure ecstasy blocked out her line of thought.


	8. Chapter 8

Kayla inserted the data chip into Kelly's neural interface. She only took two seconds to upload herself into Kelly's brain, for the next 5 hours she and Kelly were entwined into one person one body. First she gave Kelly a burst of adrenaline so Kelly would stay conscious. She made Kelly sweat from the pleasure. She played with Kelly stimulating her slowly and then increased and watched Kelly's heart rate spike. Kelly rolled her eyes into the back of her head and bit her lip. Her body lifted with satisfaction, she smiled as another rush of ecstasy overcame her. She let out a faint moan barely audible from the intense stimulation rocking her brain. She was lying on the ground now unable to stand. She tightened her hands into fists and tensed her muscles. Kayla reduced to incline, Kelly loosened up and gasped as more ecstasy flowed through her body. She moaned from the pleasure unable to speak after a few minutes Kayla intensified causing Kelly to inhaul deeply but unable to breath, her eyes widened as her breath quicken as she panted. Kelly's closed her eyes and reached down in between her thighs to quicken the satisfaction. She tried to speak but could on grunt in approval she was only able to mouth "don't stop" as she gave out a big gasp. Kayla slowed down slightly as Kelly lurched her abdomen up as she began to pant again. Kayla repeated inclining and decreasing several more times until after about 60 minutes she let Kelly go. As Kelly finished and started to sit up Kayla increased again much to Kelly's dismay. She inclined at a slower rate, giving Kelly another burst of adrenaline. After the second time she stopped, Kelly just laid there catching her breath. She was still panting as she thanked Kayla again and again. After a few minutes she got up and started to put her clothes and armor back on. After she finally cooled off she took out the data chip and inserted it back into the robot. "I can't thank you enough" she said putting her helmet back on.

"you don't need to it was my pleasure" said Kayla grasping Kelly's waist "I felt everything you felt" she added nudging Kelly with her helmet "I'd do it again in a heartbeat"

"when and where" Kelly said as they strode out to the mess hall. "I'm starving" said Kelly as she joined hands with Kayla.


	9. Chapter 9

UNSC Fearless mess hall 10 minutes until joint UNSC-Sangheili support fleet arrives

Kelly had eaten all of the calories she had lost in the past six hours in nearly 15 minutes. The food wasn't gourmet but it wasn't the survival bars soldiers our giving in their rucksacks. She was ravenous but wasn't sloppy, she restrained herself using her fork and knife instead of shoving it in her face. Linda came in once the only interaction with the others in the past six hours. Kayla saw Fred and 'Taham were still discussing tactics, 'Sraom bandaged himself again then went to sleep in the crew quarters and Linda was watching the Huragok modify the Warthog after they had finished the pelican. Linda picked up a bowl of soup and some bread and quietly ate on the bridge monitoring the communications net for any signs of a distress beacon coming from the Say My Name. When Kelly was done they headed to the bridge were the others had gathered to await the arrival of the support fleet. "reentry in 5…4…3…2" the ship had entered space they flew pasted the Fearless a little too close to comfort "UNSC Fearless we are 1 kilometer off target are you still there" said the UNSC Aegis Fate

"affirmative UNSC Aegis Fate you just scraped the paint over" said Kayla over the radio

"copy that Fearless support fleet on standby for S&R over"

"understood prepare ground troops to broad UNSC Say My Name orbiting Sovereign-075 on the dark side over"

"copy Fearless preparing to dock with UNSC Say My Name over" said the UNSC Province

"negative Province do not dock with Say My Name cause of abandonment still unknown turn back around and well dock with you over"

"copy that returning to moderate safe distance and awaiting docking with you over"

"UNSC Fearless we are picking up a strange anomaly from a remote transponder on the other side of Soveregin-075 request permission to investigate over"

"copy Aegis Fate you have a green light over drop your troops off on the Province and proceed with caution"

"copy Fearless good luck on the S&R over" the UNSC Aegis Fate leaves orbit and flies around Sovereign-075.

"UNSC Fearless we hav…" the communications link to Aegis Fate cut out after that.

"Improvement, Requires get up here and fix the communications when you get the chance" said Kayla over the PA system. _We have already fix the communications terminal _said Improvement. "well something's broken and I can't find it" said Kayla running a diagnostics check. _Perhaps the receiving end is malfunctioning we can assist in repairs _said Requires.

"know it's okay just improve the ship while were gone and don't mess with the environmental controls I have it just the way I want it"

_very well we shall improve the ships armament and shielding it will require some external maintenance _said Improvement

"just be careful you two"

_understood _said Requires.

"UNSC Fearless this is Glorified Ascension we are standing by to assist over"

"copy Ascension begin boarding of Say My Name" said Kayla. The ship then docked with the UNSC Province using the umbilical a team of ODSTs entered the Fearless "gravitational systems matched you are free to board" said the automated computer system. Stepping into the main corridor the ODSTs saw a strange occurrence that only a few had the chance to get "attention officer on deck" Fred said saluting he Kelly and Linda stood at attention as the ODST team leader a lieutenant identifiable by his red shoulders and helmet strip stepped onto the ship. The others wearing white shoulders and strips stood awed by the occurrence. "At ease?" muttered the lieutenant also dumbstruck "situation report" he added slightly frightened to give orders to the Spartans "sir UNSC Say My Name has not responded to communications for the past 6 hours" said Fred "no sighting of the Aurora or any hostile ships" said Kelly. The Lieutenant looked at Linda's serial number "058 you're the Lone Wolf aren't you" he said "heard your pretty good with a sniper rifle, hope I get to see you use it… hey maybe I could spot for you" Linda silently looked down at him "or maybe I could just not get in your way" he said. 'Sraom and 'Taham came walking down the corridor with Kayla alongside them "what are a couple of hinge heads doing here" said one of the white strips.

"Commander 'Taham and his personal bodyguard are the Arbiters two liaisons and they are in charge of this operation in Sangheili space" said Fred with assurance. "is our helmet on to tight the Sangheili are in the middle of a civil war right now said the white strip"

"not all of our brothers are intelligent enough to realize the Forerunners are not gods" said 'Sraom. "Cpl. Ferro at ease if the Spartans have faith in these hinge… Sangheili then that's fine by me and it will be for you to right Ferro" snapped the lieutenant

"yes sir" muttered the Cpl.

"I'm lieutenant Reeves these are my men Avery, Chambers, Royce, Ambrose, Williams, Traynor, Riley, Daniels, Ambrose, Lawson and I believe you've met Ferro." Shepard, Ferro, Reeves, Royce and Ambrose were males and Chambers, Riley, Williams, Daniels and Lawson were females respectively. It took some guts to volunteer to be dropped out of orbit alone not knowing was in store for you the Spartans respected them while the Sangheili thought they were crazy enough to even consider the idea let alone land into battle conveniently packed into their coffins. "how do you want us to proceed Commander" said Reeves looking to 'Taham

"we shall land on the ship using this pelican and join our brothers in the search for your missing crew." Lieutenant Reeves nods then turns his attention to Kayla

"nice armor shock trooper… what unit are you from?" he asks scanning her autumn camouflage. "105th Drop Jet Platoon Lt." Kayla said saluting

"oh your parachutists army ADST then" Lt. Reeves said disappointed.

"yes sir Atmospheric Drop Shock Trooper, not as exciting as orbital but good for those who like to stay close to the ground" said Kayla acting the part.

"always though you guys were afraid of heights" said Cpl. Ferro snickering

"shut it Ferro or Lt. will make you jump after your pod not in it" said the ODST named Ambrose. "yeah like Shepard but he can do anything you'll just die" said Royce

"so would you Roy" said Ferro clearly pissed off

"enough or ill break my foot up your ass" said Reeves more annoyed than angry "well head to the pelican and make sure Ferro locks the bay door I don't want the bird to depressurize again" he added as they began to leave. The Spartans and the Sangheili followed while Kelly and Kayla lagged behind "the 105th were wiped out at the battle of Jericho II" said Kelly "why did you tell then you were an ADST?"

"because ODSTs and ADSTs don't have a close working relationship it would be the only way they wouldn't inquire any further" replied Kayla.

"hey Kelly double time it were already here" said Fred on the radio. The two lovers then headed to the hangar without another word.


	10. Chapter 10

The flight to the Say My Name was fairly uneventful. Some of the ODSTs made jokes on how Ferro forgot the seal their last ride cause the ship to depressurize while in orbit. They quickly became silent after one of them mentioned someone named Tara who probably wouldn't have found it so amusing. Upon landing on the Say My Name they met up with group of ODSTs embarking off the pelican Anchorage. The two platoons Mako, which they met earlier, and Hammerhead moved farther into the ship while the Spartans and Sangheili said to await the arrival of the Spec Ops unit. Shortly after the ODST departure several Spirits, Banshees, Phantoms, Seraphs and Vampires approach the hangar. The Banshees, Seraphs and Vampires pull off and circle the ship while the Phantoms and Spirits drop off their troops. A large boarding party of Spec Ops units and a support team, Heavy's, Rangers and Ultras, disembark and the ships return to the Ascension. A Sangheili General and several team leaders meet with Fred and 'Taham while the others watch from a distance. "Commander 'Taham, always a pleasure" said the General "we are task force Inquisitor ready to assist you in any way we can my team leaders are standing by to receive orders to search the ship" he added noticing Fredric "Demon" he said with a snarl. "excellent" said 'Taham "have your Ranger team search outside the ship for any breaches or damage and the rest stay here in case we need reinforcements."

"but sir shouldn't we help search for the ship's crew" said the Spec Ops commando

"the humans already have teams searching the ships aft section but I suppose the Spec Ops units could help search the stern section"

"very well Spec Ops teams move out" said the General, the Spec Ops Sangheili and a few Unggoy stop what they're doing and head towards the stern of the ship. The Ranger units, Sangheili and Unggoy, leap out of the hangar and begin searching the external part of the ship. The remaining Sangheili and Unggoy that are basic infantry begin setting up an command center next to the Royal. A Unggoy Heavy walks up carrying a plasma turret "sir were should we deploy the defense turrets"

"set them up facing the door ways in case we find trouble" said the General "unless the Commander has a better idea"

"no face them towards the doors" said 'Taham

"Sir" said the Unggoy attempting the salute while hefting the plasma turret. He drops it onto another Unggoy Heavies foot and the two begin to fight. Several Sangheili minors and Unggoy begin to watch laughing as the heavies roll around on the deck yelling insults to each other as they try to rip the others mask off "Enough" yelled a Sangheili Ultra "continue to set up the command center or I'll through both of you out of this ship" he roared throwing on of the Unggoy off the other and 12 meters into the air landing hard on his head "do I make myself clear" he said picking up the other who was cowering on the floor.

"yes sir" said the Unggoy picking up the plasma turret the other rubbing his head said

"that hurt" the Sangheili was immediately upon him kicking him another 12 meters away.

"do not speak until spoken to" he yelled into his face. He dropped the Unggoy on the ground and he ran for his life "yes sir" he cried nearly across the hangar.

"when in doubt flee" chuckled the Ultra noticing the Commander and General "Sirs" he said saluting "carry-on" said the General the Ultra then noticed a pair of Unggoy fighting over a plasma rifle and headed towards them, they scattered before the rifle hit the ground. A pair of Mgalekgolo wandered pasted ending the meeting. The General left to attend to his men while 'Taham and Fred returned to the others. "we shall head to the ships bridge and find the ships log" said Fred. Without a word the Spartans and 'Sraom sprang into action Kelly took point followed by 'Sraom and Linda then 'Taham and Kayla and Fred took rear guard. Reaching the bridge after a few minutes they found Riley, Ambrose, Ferro and Royce cutting their way through the locked bridge doors. "ah Spartans your just in time Ferro here was just about to unlock the door" said Royce

"shut up Roy" muttered Ferro as he finished cutting "you couldn't hack the door either" he said as he pried the door open. As soon as he pulled back the doors Kelly noticed a blood stain running into the bridge before she could warn Ferro a large spike shot through the doorway hitting Ferro dead in the chest "contact… contact… contact" cried Royce as the others dodged the spikes "brutes" yelled Ambrose as he fired into the bridge Royce and Riley dragged Ferro away from the doorway, "how did Jiralhanae get here" yelled 'Sraom also firing into the bridge.

"Grenade" yelled Kelly throwing a couple into the bridge. A roar cried out from inside the bridge as the grenades exploded. A brief silence followed but the Jiralhanae opened fired shortly afterwards hitting Ambrose through the wall. Kelly, Linda and 'Sraom dodge the remaining spikes as Ambrose tosses his extra mags to Royce before slumping his head down "Ambrose is down, Ambrose is down" yelled Royce

"Ferro's gone to" yelled Fred

"what the hell do we do now" yelled Royce over the gunfire

"this" said Kelly as she ran into the bridge. Linda and Fred followed shortly after. Royce swore under his breath and charged in after them. Riley checked Ambrose making sure he was KIA while 'Sraoma, Kayla and 'Taham covered her. "Riley I'm down" yelled Royce, Riley immediately ran in to the bridge. The gunfire began to die down them stopped completely "that's what I call shock combat" said Kelly over the radio.

"this is Mako 2 we have three men down I repeat we have three men down" said Riley holding back tears "Ambrose, Ferro and Royce KIA" she added crying.

"copy Riley Mako 1 moving to your postion" said Reeves over the radio.


	11. Chapter 11

"What the Hell happened" yelled Reeves as the stormed into the bridge his helmet off.

"a Jiralhanae boarding crew attacked the ship they sealed themselves inside bridge" said Kelly as she accessed the ships log. Riley pulled out a Joker card from Ferros armor, an ace of spades from Royce and a 8 of clubs from Ambrose "what's with the cards"?" asked Fred

"everyone has a card, 52 in a deck 9 of us left" said Traynor taking off her helmet "I'm a communications specialists" she said to Kelly who took the hint.

"got a live one here" said 'Sraom kicking a wounded Jiralhanae. Reeves pulled out his pistol "wait we need to know what happened here" said Kayla Reeves reluctantly holsters his sidearm as Kayla walks over to the Jiralhanae "what are you going here, where is the crew?" she asks aggressively "it was a lone ship we thought we could take her" replied the Jiralhanae

"who's we, what happened here" says Kayla more aggressively

"there were so many we could kill them all we hid in here until help would arrive but they left us" muttered the Jiralhanae "we are all doomed"

"who attacked… was it the crew, who left you" said Kayla. The Jiralhanae didn't reply

"answer me" said Kayla pulling out her pistol "I swear I'll pull the trigger"

"you won't have to" the Jiralhanae reaches behind him

"wait what?" said Kayla, Shepard and Williams rushed towards the Jiralhanae but it was too late. The Jiralhanae pulled out a spike grenade when it detonated Kayla was thrown across the room, 'Sraom took a spike to the arm Williams took the most of the spikes to the chest shielding the others and Avery and the Jiralhanae were nothing but an impact crater in the floor. Fred was the first to reach 'Sraom he carried him out to the hallway as Riley and Reeves pulled Williams out of the fire. "she still alive but I can't help her" said Riley "she needs proper medical attention" she added. Kelly ran over to Kayla who was standing up her right arm missing,

"Daniels, Chambers take Williams to the hangar Lawson escort" Reeves barked. Daniels took the legs and Chambers took the arms, they didn't want to move the spikes in Williams chest. After they left Reeves put his helmet on "Hammerhead where are you" he said over the radio. "crew quarters, there's a lot of blood here no bodies… what was that explosion?"

"Jiralhanae survivor pulled a grenade one man down three critical"

"copy heading to your position, got a team in the armory we'll link up and meet you in the mess"

"copy see you soon" replied Reeves "I'm heading to the mess Traynor what did you find?" he asked "sir I'm not sure" replied Traynor unloading the information onto a flash drive,

"upload the info and tell me later" he said running out after he left 'Taham and Linda left the bridge the get the Sangheili support team. "hey Riley I need a hand here" said Fred still in the hallway "I hope you no Sangheili biology 'cause I don't" he said as she walked out. Kayla and Kelly went over to Traynor "what did you find" asked Kelly, before Traynor could answer a loud crack rang out. A single spike had penetrated the bridges forward window just before it broke Traynor finished uploading the ships logs. "breach… breach… breach" yelled Kelly as they ran out of the bridge as the window blew out decompressing the room. The zero gravity wasn't what they were scared they all had their helmets on, even though Kayla's was half missing, it was the ships automated doors which would close when a room was breached. Just as Kayla and Kelly ran through the doorway the doors closed crushing Traynor in between. Kelly immediately tried to pull the doors open but Traynor stopped her. "don't the hallway will decompress trapping you inside" she said giving her the flash drive "keep this safe" she said. Her head slumped back and her heart rate flattened, the door sealed shut.


	12. Chapter 12

"contact" yelled a Sangheili over the radio pulling the Spartans and others out of the daze, they had just watched Traynor be sucked into space without her helmet to save them from the same fate when the Sangheili Spec Ops team leader came over the radio. "where are you?" said 'Taham "life support, we were heading for the engine room and reactor when…" the voice was drowned out by plasma fire "to many falling back …. everywhere… need… assistance" the radio cut out "Spec Ops reply… Spec Ops reply who is attacking you" said 'Taham checking his needlers there was only static. "Spartans where are you" yelled Reeves over the radio "we need support we're being overrun" the Spartans charged down the hallway towards the mess hall.

"copy Reeves we're on our way" said Fred as they rounded the corner. Following the Spartans 'Taham and Riley carried 'Sraom while Kayla lagged behind limping. Kelly reached the mess hall before the others and what she found almost made her throw up right there inside her helmet. Hammerhead was everywhere on the floor on the tables, the walls and even on the ceiling there scattered remains littered the floor alongside the empty shell casings and discharged weapons. A single ODST was still in mostly one piece she was clutching a grenade in one hand and a bloody note in the other. When Kelly pulled the note from her hand the ODST slumped over knocking the grenade out of her hand. Kelly dove over a table just as the grenade exploding covering her in blood and human guts. Kelly new she shouldn't but she pulled her helmet off and threw up just as Linda and Fred appeared in the aft doorway. The stench was revolting she immediately put her helmet back on but the smell was still in her suit. She left the mess hall gagging as 'Taham and Riley reached the doorway as well. Kelly handed the note to Riley then went to the nearby lavatory and continued to throw up. Kayla limped into the lavatory to comfort her while Riley opened up the note

_Lilly I'm sorry love you__

Riley folded up the note and put it with the nearly full deck of cards in her med-pack. Fred and Linda started to search through the carnage for Reeves as 'Taham put 'Sraom out in the hallway. "I knew these people" Riley said wading through the carnage "most of them were my friends" she said picking up a picture of a man holding a baby girl on the back it said _Love now and always, Lockhart_ "this was the Capt.'s" said Riley very upset "his daughter was born one month ago he was going to see her after this" she said crying.

"hey its ok" said Fred "it's not your fault" he added reassuring her.

"yeah it is I should have gone with the Lt. I could have helped" said Riley

"no you would be dead like the rest of them" said Fred "you know that." Riley didn't answer but she knew Fred was right. "ok" she finally said "your right" she shook off her sadness "so what happened here it only took us a few minutes to get here"

"I don't know" said Fred standing up. Before they could say anything more a shot rang out from the hallway "Fred, Linda get out here" yelled Kelly continuing to fire. Fred Linda and Riley ran out to the hallway and saw what killed the ODSTs it was the crew or what was left of them.


	13. Chapter 13

"fall back to the hangar" yelled 'Taham over the gunfire and shouting, he pulled out his energy sword and cut through the crew nearest to him. "I'm out" yelled Fred searching for an extra MA5 mag Linda threw him a mag which he emptied shortly after. He switched to his shotgun which was much more effective the crew nearest to them were cut down by the automatic shotgun "reloading" yelled Kelly over the noise. Fred made each shot count as he was the only one firing. 'Taham and Riley were ahead of him dragging 'Sraom who was covering them with his plasma rifle. Kelly was to his left shoving a new mag into her battle rifle and Kayla was to his right firing her M7S "I'm out" cried Kayla dropping the SMG "switching to sidearm" she pulled out her M6/SOCOM. Kayla's suit was dripping some kind of black liquid from the tear in her stomach probably from the robot. Linda was just ahead of them picking off shots with the sniper. They were walking backwards still firing at the crew when they reached the bridge. "out" yelled Fred throwing the rifle into the crowd. It knocked back a few of the crew but more just kept coming. "Spec Ops team were are you" said 'Taham over the radio

"nearing the hangar" said the Sangheili on the other end "be prepared for immediate…" Fred couldn't hear the rest it was drowned out by the crews moans and Kelly's automatic battle rifle. Suddenly the doors closed sealing off the crew in the hallway and them in the hangar, they could hear the crew beating and clawing against the door. "what the hell is wrong with them" said Fred over the radio "that is not your crew" said 'Taham "that is the Flood." they all stood there for a minute shocked by what 'Taham had just said "what do you mean the Flood, I thought the parasite was destroyed on the Ark" said Kelly

"it was but somehow it still survived" said 'Taham "the Forerunners kept some in containment for study but that was only on…" he trailed off

"impossible" said 'Sraom "It can't be"

"the anomaly, your ship the Aegis Fate it said it picked up an anomaly we must contact them" said 'Taham

"Commander" said the Sangheili General approaching "we have finished building the command center, but we have lost contact with the Ranger team on the…" before he could finish a Flood combat unit sprang up through the floor panel grabbing the General by the legs "what the… help" he cried as it pulled him into the maintenance shaft Fred and 'Taham grabbed him by the arms but the Flood was to strong "evacuate the ship" said the General as he pulled out a plasma grenade "destroy it from the Ascension" he said priming the grenade Fred and 'Taham nodded watching the General be pulled down in the shaft. Shortly after a plasma grenade went off farther down the tunnel. "we must evacuate" said 'Taham "Glorified Ascension prepare to destroy the Say My Name" he said just as the Ranger team returned to the hangar. The Rangers were infected several crew members followed them shortly afterwards decimating the command center. An unlucky Sangheili pulled a grenade causing a chain reaction destroying Hammerhead pelican. The two Mgalekgolo were then the only two left beside the Spartans, 'Taham and Riley still fighting. Kayla managed to reach the Royal with 'Sraom and they were firing from the nose mounted chaingun killing the ones getting to close for comfort. Soon the Spec Ops team arrived, only 3 Sangheili left. "commander the Flood where did it come from" said the leader as they sealed the only other door entering the hangar. "an installation" said 'Taham. The Sangheili was shocked as were the others but this was no time to stand around thinking about it. Two of the phantoms returned one was boarded by the Flood and it crashed into the hangar bay doors decompressing the hangar and killing the two Mgalekgolo and some Flood. Most of the remaining Flood were sucked out into space while the Spec Ops team entered the lone Phantom the others entered the Royal and they left just as the bay doors closed sealing the Flood inside the ship. "Glorified Ascension this is Commander 'Taham begin bombardment of the Say My Name"

"understood commander preparing plasma torpedoes… wait what is that" suddenly a small fleet of 12 Jiralhanae ships reentered from slipspace and attack the Province and Ascension.

"where the hell did they come from" said the Province

"engaging Feet" said Ascension

"there's to many of them fall back Ascension"

"negative Province we will hold" the Ascension rotates 90 degrees blocking the oncoming plasma torpedo barrage heading towards the Province

"sustaining critical damage activating ventral beam" the Ascension turns sideways and fires into the Jiralhanae fleet destroying several of the smaller ships.

"Ascension pull out you are taking too much damage" 'Taham says

"remember this day commander a Sangheili ship saving a human one the Arbiter will be pleased" the Ascension deactivates its ventral beam and charges the Jiralhanae fleet "prepare boarding teams and dropships"

"sir there goin' ram the Jiralhanae Super Carrier" said the Province

"Ascension abort… Ascension abort" screamed 'Taham over the radio

"Commander it was an honor serving you" said the Sangheili shipmaster "brothers we will leave this ship and attack their carriers from the inside and we will slaughter the Jiralhanae crew that guard them" there is loud roar of approval from the other Sangheili onboard over the radio "we will make them regret ever having had existing do defy us as our plasma burns through them" the roaring heightens as the ships boarding pods and phantoms attack the nearby ships "It was a pleasure serving with you brothers" the Shipmaster says as they are about to ram the Super Carrier "the pleasure was ours sir" replies the other Sangheili. As the radio cuts out 'Taham and Fred look out of the pelicans cockpit just as the Ascension rams the Super Carrier massive purple explosions rip through both vessels as the Ascension continues to break through the Super Carrier splitting it in two. The boarding pods and phantoms manage to reach three smaller carriers surrounding the Super Carrier. This is the UNSC Province we are sustaining major structural damage and are requesting assistance over… I repeat this is the UNSC Province sending out a SOS over does anyone copy?"

"copy UNSC Province this is the Battle Group Alamo responding to SOS the UNSC Saratoga,

UNSC Stalwart Dawn and UNSC Swiftsure will reach you in three hours over"

"negative Battle Group Alamo we are under heavy fire from 9 Jiralhanae Destroyers and carriers over"

"copy UNSC Province we are the closest UNSC fleet near your position"

"copy Battle Group Alamo" suddenly a barrage of plasma torpedoes rips through Province "mayday…mayday this is UNSC Province we are going down" the UNSC Province still in orbit over Sovereign-075 crashes into the surface several minutes later, no escape pods were activated in time to evacuate. "UNSC Fearless do you copy… UNSC Fearless do you cop" Fred tries to communicate with the Fearless which was still docked to the Province. "Sangheili dropship do you copy"

"affirmative human dropship…?"

"Royal" said Fred

"affirmative Royal this is Descent into Reckoning what are your orders Commander 'Taham"

"we search for the other human ship on the other side of this…" his voice trailed off looking out the window the crew of the Royal and Descent watch as a Halo ring orbiting Sovereign-075 comes over the horizon. Everyone stood watching the video feed inside the troop bay as the derelict Halo floated by the debris they were hiding in. "head for the ring" said 'Taham "we won't survive much longer out here" he added realizing his insanity.

"copy Commander setting coordinates for the cartographer" replied the Descent. Knowing it was the only way they would survive Kayla piloted the Royal after the phantom to the Cartographer located somewhere on the desert landscape.


	14. Chapter 14

Shortly after the dropships landed he Sangheili and Spartans had unloaded everything off of the ships and set up a makeshift campsite inside the Cartographer. The Sangheili discover the installations Monitor, 049 Abject Testament had abandoned the installation shortly after the firing of the halo array leaving installation uninhabited for 100,000 years. The installation has been decaying ever since and the desert like environment is an isolated wasteland. The Cartographer also shows a strange object resting on the installation about 100 kilometers away. The Spartans and Kayla who is now inserted into Kelly via data chip/neural implant, she had ditched her damaged robot, take the lone M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle that was attached to a pelican in search of large object the cartographer picked up on the installation. The Spec Ops team and 'Taham search the lower reaches of the Cartographer to make sure it is secure. The object turns out to be the UNSC Coral Sea which has largely been dismantled to form a colony. The ship is surrounded by partially constructed and or burnt down buildings made from the ship's hull and 4 Base Turrets armed with four M202 XP Machine Guns each and a Flame Mortar, Rail Gun and Missile Launcher. "what the heck how did that get here" said Fred as they disembark from the Warthog.

"is that the Coral Sea?" asks Kelly as they enter the 'colony'.

"looks like it" said Kayla on the in-helmet radio. The colony was empty, there were empty casing and shells littering the ground but no other signs of the UNSC personnel around the ship. Kelly climbed up to one of the base turret and found it was overheat and empty of bullets, gasoline and rockets. Fred found some blood leading to the ship where they found more blood and piece of flesh. "looks like the Flood where here" Kelly said nearly throwing up. Fred and Linda finished searching a building and came out just as a trio of phantoms finished dropping off a pack of Jiralhanae infantry. "contact take cover" yelled Fred diving behind a jersey barrier just as a hail of spike flies into the wall. Linda climbs up a watch tower and begins sniping off brutes as the poke their heads out from cover. "reloading" yells Fred "last mag" despite Linda's accuracy and Fred suppressive fire the brutes charge Fred throwing a spike grenade which knocks him on his back. Crawling backwards Fred reaches a unfinished wall just as Kelly shows up in a modified M808B Main Battle Tank. Using the Scorpion, with a "canister shell" ability, Kelly is able to eliminate the remaining Jiralhanae before they overwhelm Fred and Linda. "where did you find that" asks Fred as Kelly disembarks

"Kayla found it, it was under a makeshift canopy" the Spartans then search some of the brutes bodies "what's this symbol" Fred asks finding a Forerunner glyph on the brute Chieftain

shoulder plate. "It appears to mean marauder or privateer… maybe mercenary" said Kayla puzzled.

"so they are deserters?" asked Fred

"more like soldiers of fortune" said Kayla "perhaps they were hired to find this ring" said Kayla "but who hired them" asked Kelly

"maybe the Shan 'Shyuum" replied Kayla

"aren't they all dead?"

"no some of them are probably still alive." searching the other brutes they find all of the Brute Ultra's, Major's and Minors have the same symbol on their shoulder plates. Suddenly a lone Brute Stalker appears and attacks Fred wrestling him to the ground. Fred is able to kill it with his knifes stabbing it in the neck. However five phantoms hover over the colony and begin deploying Jump Pack Brutes led by a War Chieftain. "brothers search for the humans tear them apart" roars the Chieftain. The Chieftain and his Bodyguards head into the Coral Sea while the Jump Pack Captain orders the Majors and Minors to search the colony. A lone phantom remains using its nose mounted spotlight to light up the dark areas of the colony while the Jump Pack brutes search for the Spartans. Evading the spotlight Fred, Kelly and Linda silently assassinate several of the brutes including the Captain who is guarding the entrance to the Coral Sea. Heading into the ship they hear screaming and roaring farther into the ship. Following the noise to the ships bridge where they find the slaughtered brutes. On the War Chieftains corpse they find a small communications device with displays a message from the minor Prophets of Candor and Supposition.

_Our leaders are dead and our fleets scattered. But we must have faith the Great Journey can still be achieved through the Sacred Rings. We have discover the coordinates to one of the Holy Rings. Any Covenant still loyal to the cause should gather at these coordinates and continue the Great Journey by activating the Rings one at a time._

_-Salvation will be achieved- _

"what the hell does that mean" Fred asks

"it appears that the two minor Prophets are trying to muster the remaining Covenant to gather here at this ring" said Kayla "perhaps the battle group Aurora was attacked by a Covenant Remnant as was the Say My Name"

"and the fleet orbiting the planet?"

"is another faction of the Covenant sent here by the Prophets to reclaim it from us." the Spartans search the ships computer but find everything is wiped except for a set of coordinates. "Kayla where to these go" asked Kelly

"they go to a unnamed asteroid in another system" replies Kayla "a former Covenant mining station is known to orbit the asteroid"

"maybe that's where the UNSC Paris and UNSC Redoubtable are"

"perhaps or there is another significance, but I cannot think of one the station was abandoned during the Great Schism"

"let's head back to the Cartographer the radios scrapped and the brutes will come back when they realize their friends are dead" interrupts Fred

"agreed" replies Kelly the Spartans make their way back outside just as a the remaining brutes are swarmed by the Flood. "incoming" Fred yells as the Phantom flies low overhead crashing into the Scorpion causing a massive explosion. The blast knocks Kelly onto her back knocking her out briefly. As Kelly comes to she hears gunfire and screaming coming from the brutes as the survivors are burning to death or becoming infected. "Kelly get up… KELLY GET UP" screams Kayla inside Kelly's brain. Kelly sits up she turns to where Linda was and sees her slumped over a metal rod sticking out of her abdomen. "KELLY MOVE" screams Kayla again Kelly drags herself behind a wall watching Linda as she also comes to. Just before Kelly blacks out again she sees Linda pull the metal rod out of her stomach lift her helmet up slightly and spit out bright red blood. "Kelly… Kelly wake up… Kelly we have to move" Fred yells into Kelly's golden colored visor. Kelly comes to again this time being dragged by Fred through some wreckage. "take this, cover my six" Fred hands Kelly his plasma repeater just as several Flood round the corner pursuing them. Fighting through the pain Kelly kills the pursuing Flood as Fred pulls her into the warthog driver's seat. "stay hear I'm going to get Linda" says Fred as Kelly gets her first glimpse of him. His armor was smoldering and the helmet visor was cracked and broken. Blood flowed out of his broken visor and dripped down his chest and arms. He took back his Plasma Repeater and charge back into the 'colony' to rescue Linda.


	15. Chapter 15

Linda felt the pain in her entire body but not where the metal rod protruded from her stomach. Clenching her teeth she pulled herself off the rod and collapsed down next to it. She saw Kelly was lying a few meters away from her but she couldn't tell if she was unconscious or not. Even though she knew she shouldn't she pulled her helmet up to spit out the blood flowing up from her stomach. Pulling her helmet on she took out a bio-foam canister Riley had given her earlier. Emptying the canister she tossed it aside and noticed Kelly wasn't where she was lying. She also noticed a trio of Flood charging her. Using the sniper rifle at point blank she killed the three with chest shots ripping them in half. Additional Flood would probably have heard the shots and it wasn't safe to stay here. She forced herself up and using her rifle as a crutch she limped to a nearby building and collapsed in a corner. Linda emptying her sniper takes her back pack off and searches for extra sniper mags but only finds a M6 pistol and some flares. Arming the flare she tosses it outside of the building onto the doorstep. Loading the pistol she tries her radio but it doesn't work. Feeling the side of her helmet she discovers a large gash on the left side of the helmet which nearly cut her. A large group of Flood, attracted by the flare, approach from outside and Linda tries to activate her active camouflage only for it to short circuit. Linda primes a grenade and tosses it outside exploding killing most of the Flood. After shooting the surviving Flood Fred breaks through the nearby wall fighting off three Flood with his knife. Linda shoots two of the Flood but her pistol jams. Picking up Fred Plasma Repeater Linda kills the last Flood nearly hitting Fred. Carrying each other Fred and Linda escape the "colony" and regroup with Kelly in the warthog barley escaping another group of Flood. "UNSC survivors… do you copy… over" a sudden voice on Kelly's radio startles her causing her to swerve violently.

"identified yourself" Kayla says immediately

"this is the UNSC Battle Group Alamo what is your position we are picking up large amounts of unidentified Covenant spacecraft orbiting Sovereign-075 are they friendlies"

"negative Battle Group Alamo those ships are hostile recommend bringing in reinforcements over"

"copy UNSC survivors but we are the reinforcements"

"this is Lieutenant, Junior Grade Spartan Frederic-104 authorizing Broken Arrow" Fred says interrupting the conversation on all open comms channels. Kelly and Linda both stare at him "what?... hey eyes on the road" he says a several Phantoms drop off Brute Choppers and Prowlers. "Copy Lieutenant this is UNSC Battle Group Wake Island responding to Broken Arrow we are entering emergency Slipspace jump to your position over"

"this is UNSC EMS Fleet Scarecrow responding over"

"this UNSC HAZOP Fleet Ozone responding"

"UNSC QRF Fleet Experto Crede responding"

"UNSC RRF Fleet Alcatraz entering ESS jump over"

"this is UNSC Fleet Atlas responding ETA 5 hours." the Warthog began taking damage and Linda with her Sniper rifle takes several shots killing several Brute Chopper pilots. "there's two Jackhammers in the back" yells Kelly over the rifle fire. Linda clicks open the case and hands Fred on of the rocket launchers while she takes the other. Using the Jackhammers Fred and Linda take out several of the Prowlers when a group of Banshees flies overhead and attacks.

"UNSC survivors this is the Aegis Fate stand by for immediate air support"

"Copy Aegis Fate where the hell have you been" Fred says firing the rocket launcher and blowing up a Banshee.

"we've been hiding in the planets asteroid belt waiting for reinforcements." I trio of Pelicans fly overhead and destroy the Banshees and a few Choppers "with reinforcements inbound will rescue you and anyone else"

"copy, 'Taham did you hear that prep the ships and well evac with the escort"

"understood we are picking up activity inside the Cartographer there may be Flood in the facility."

"copy ETA 5 minutes fall back outside and will link up with you shortly"

"negative a Brute pack is outside we are cut off from the transports"

"copy Commander will rendezvous at your position" the Pelicans then left the warthog and headed for the Cartographer. "This is Aegis Fate the Brute fleet Mark of Redemption is heading towards our position we may need to abort mission"

"negative Aegis Fate we need to evac now otherwise the brutes will overrun our position"

"copy UNSC survivors will we remain in position for 20 minutes then you're on your own." the Spartans reached the Cartographer in 4 minutes the last brute Chopper chasing them was destroyed upon their arrival by one of the hovering pelicans. The entire facility was surrounded by brutes, Jump packs were assaulting from the air while Stalkers were breaching from the ground. Pulling the warthog to a halt next to Royal and Inquisitor the Spartans eliminated the nearby Chieftain and his body guards who were about to board the Inquisitor. Moving forward the Pelicans began their strafing run taking out brutes left and right using their chainguns and missiles. A War Chieftain and his body guards charged the Spartans but were quickly dealt with using the Jackhammers. "Riley what is your status we have secured the dropships and are under heavy fire" Kelly didn't get an answer 'Taham carrying 'Sraom came out a few minutes later no one else followed. "What happened where is Riley and the others"

"they are dead and so will we unless we leave immediately" the Spartans stood shocked for a moment 'Taham and 'Sraom began boarding the Phantom "she fought bravely she took many Flood with her and felled many brutes, we would not have escaped without her sacrifice" the Spartans understood as horrible as it was they understood. "she gave me these before she died" 'Sraom said tossing Kelly a nearly full deck of cards, on top was a bloody Queen of Hearts. The Spartans hooked the warthog to Royal and left the ring just as the Aegis Fate flew overhead awaiting their arrival. As the pelicans and Inquisitor reach the Aegis Fate two UNSC fleets arrive from slipspace and begin engaging the Covenant Remnant Fleet. "this is UNSC QRF Fleet Experto Crede engaging Covenant Mark of Redemption Fleet"

"negative UNSC QRF we need immediate assistance fall back to our position"

"copy Aegis Fate sending UNSC Frigate Gettysburg, and Destroyers UNSC Jericho and UNSC Las Vegas to support you"

"this is UNSC RRF Fleet Alcatraz we can hold the line" several of the Rapid Reaction Force ships charged the Mark of Redemption the UNSC Euphrates, UNSC Iroquois and UNSC Lancelot were the only ones to reach the Covenant Fleet. As the Pelicans landed the RRF fleet destroyed several of the smaller Covenant ships before the hangar doors closed. The Spartans left the hangar and headed for the bridge to upload the coordinates found on the UNSC Coral Sea. "Kelly don't tell them about me they may try to…"

"I would never" said Kelly interrupting Kayla "I love you, I don't know what I would do without you" even thought they were speaking inside Kelly's head through the neural interface it still felt like a real conversation. Tampering with Kelly's brain Kayla was able to project herself, in a less revealing dress which still showed a lot of skin, walking alongside the Spartans in Kelly's helmet HUD. Kelly gave the flash drive containing the coordinates to Fred as she headed to the medical to get patched up.


	16. Chapter 16

UNSC Aegis Fate cryo-room 6 hours later

Kelly awoke from a pleasant dream of her and Kayla lying in a sunny field on Sigma Octanus IV staring into each other's eyes holding hands. Suddenly a shock of coldness ran through Kelly's body as the cryo pod unfroze her. Even though her armor was repaired and covering her she could still feel the cold as the pod opened and she climbed out. Linda and Fred also got out along with 'Taham and 'Sraom all of them mostly recovered from their injuries. "that was nice" said Kayla inside Kelly's head "I wish it were real" replied Kelly silently

"maybe it was" Kayla said as she appeared on Kelly's HUD. Kayla stepped out of another empty pod, naked, and proceeded seductively put on a pair of slippers and see through robe. "I'm going to take a shower" she said before strutting out to the hallway "are you coming" she said before ducking out. "Fred and "Taham headed for the armory and Linda and 'Sraom decided to head back to medical, both were still in a lot of pain." Kelly began heading for the shower room and found it was empty, except for Kayla "oh dear it appears the showers are closed for the next half an hour" Kayla said grinning "it's not a lot but it will do" she said removing her robe and slippers. Kelly began removing her armor, it was modified to be removed by the wearer, before she took her helmet off a field report from the UNSC Euphrates appeared on the HUD. Kelly looked it over as she removed her boots and gloves, the remaining Fleets responding to Broken Arrow had arrived and destroyed the Covenant Fleet Marked of Redemption except for a lone cruiser which had managed to escape, the UNSC Fleets received little casualties. As Kelly wondered what happened to the lone cruiser, Kayla stepped out of the shower "hey are you coming or what" she said her body covered in water. Kelly immediately tore away from the thought and removed her helmet. Kelly kept the data chip inserted in her neural interface and stepped into the small shower. Each shower was built for one person but Kelly and Kayla managed, Kelly took off her tank top and underwear and stood in the shower awaiting Kayla's next move. Kelly was not as impressive as Kayla but she was still very noticeably especially for a Spartan. Kayla smiled just as Kelly closed her eyes and felt a warm feeling return to her entire body. After 20 minutes Kelly was pleased, crawling out of the shower Kelly collected herself and put her armor back on. "that was amazing as usual" Kayla said as she strolled out of the shower with her towel barley covering her. As Kayla slipped out of the towel and pulled her "'dress' on, Kelly couldn't help but watch as Kayla was still soaking wet and the dress was difficult for her to get on. After they were finished they headed to the Armory and Kelly refilled her ammo and grenade supply before heading to medical to find the others. Arriving at Medical Kelly found Fred, 'Taham, Linda and 'Sraom had already left and went back to the Royal in the hangar. When Kelly returned to the hangar the others were awaiting her. "we were wondering when you'd show up" Fred said sarcastically "we were about to send out a search party." having arrived at the coordinates found in the UNSC Coral Sea they arrived at the former Covenant asteroid which was recently activated. "I appears the Covenant Cruiser that had evaded us has restarted the mining facility" said 'Taham as he boarded the Inquisitor "your other two ships are docked with the station and do not appear to have taken any damage" he added as 'Sraom climbed aboard. A team of ODSTs with jetpacks approached the Spartans as the Phantom lifted up and left the hangar. "Lt. we are the 503rd ODST Combat Enforcement and Aerial Assault platoon nicknamed the Bullfrogs we are ordered to assist your team with rescue mission Eclipse" said the Platoon Capt.

"okay Capt. Load your men onto the pelican and we can get started" said Fred as they climbed aboard the Royal. After taking off the ODSTs surprised the Spartans with three extra jetpacks, after putting on her new jet pack Kelly noticed Fred and Linda hadn't put theirs on, Fred ways flying the ship so he couldn't and Linda had a back pack on and was trying to decided which was more important. Nearing the station Fred opened the bay door and the ODSTs stood and checked each other's packs. "your good" said an ODST tapping Kelly on the shoulder, Kelly looked back and saw the ODSTs had formed a line behind her and the Capt. The ODST who was behind her was named Sandman. "hey why do they call you Sandman" Kelly asked as Linda walked by acting as the crew chief "I talk too much bored people to sleep" said the ODST, several of the other ODSTs laughed "shut in marines this is a zero grav drop" said the Capt. "the Brutes dug their ugly hairy feet into the ground and dared us to come in, so we will" he added

"Sir yes Sir" said the ODSTs in unison

"ooh… we got a couple of badasses in here lets load em' up" the ODSTs pulled out flesh clips and shoved them into their rifles. Since it wasn't a recon operation the ODSTs carried MA5Cs and battle rifles. "First line step up" said the Captain, two of the ODSTs Sandman and a female ODST named Ramirez stepped up and checked their rifles. "first line jump" said the Captain, Sandman and Ramirez ran up to the edge and jumped out just as the pelican flew over the station. "I live for this sh…" said Sandman as they were pulled in by the asteroids gravity towards the station "go…go…go" yelled the Capt. As the other ODSTs ran towards the edge. Only three of the ODSTs managed to jump out of the Pelican before the Covenant Cruiser appeared overhead hitting the Royal with several plasma torpedoes. The blast destroyed the warthog and knocked Kelly back to the rear of the troop bay. Many of the ODSTs were shot out of the pelican except for two holding on to Kelly on her left and right. "grab her" yelled one as they pulled Kelly back from the burning stern of the Royal. "this is the UNSC Royal we are going down on asteroid-426" yelled Fred over the Comms, the pelican orbited the asteroid flying closer and closer to the surface as multiple Banshees began shooting at them. "Kelly jump" cried Kayla in her head "the trajectory of the pelican will kill you, get Fred and get out of there" she screamed in Kelly's head. "Fred we need to go the ship is lost" Kelly said on the radio

"okay I'm coming out" Fred replied

"ODSTs go I'll get my partner" Kelly said to the ODSTs. They looked at each other than nodded to her then let go of her and the ship and flew out the back. "impact in 10…9…8…7…" Kayla started to count down Fred then climbed out of the cockpit and Kelly hooked on his jetpack "4…3…2…" the Spartans activated their pack and flew out just as the ship flew belly first onto the asteroid blowing it apart in a massive explosion. Kelly and Fred slammed into the ground at the same speed as the ship. Breaking through the rocky surface they both made sizable craters as they deactivated their jet packs. Despite her pain Kelly managed to sit up and saw the two ODSTs land and run to their position. Checking Fred they found her was unconscious but alive and Kelly help them carry him as they tried to link up with the remaining ODSTs. After about 10 minutes the ODSTs and Kelly found a dead ODST lying in a pile of rocks, "Nikolai" one of the ODSTs said before they collected his dog tags and ammo and moved on. Several minutes later they reached the mining station just as the ODST oxygen supply went critical. Entering the station they found multiple dead brutes and three of the ODSTs who managed to drop. "at least there's oxygen" said one of the ODSTs as he collected their tags, "where's Sandman and Ramirez" asked Kelly looking over the bodies

"I don't know maybe they landed somewhere else on the station" said the same ODST.

"don't you talk" said Kelly to the other ODST

"ha Ice Blonde doesn't talk she's the strong and silent type" said the other ODST "I'm Hero by the way"

"why do they call you that" asked Kelly

"Henry… Varo" he said laughing. A spike suddenly flies through the air an embeds itself in the wall next to Varo. "get down… get down" he yells throwing himself on Blonde, Kelly fires her battle rifle on auto hitting a pair of brutes charging down the hallway. "This way" Kelly yells picking up Fred and carrying down another corridor. The ODSTs chase after them and after evading several brute patrols and engaging several squads they find Linda's sniper rifle, a dead War Chieftain and his body guards and a trail of blood. Putting Fred down Kelly follows the blood trail as the ODSTs catch up and collapse taking a breather. Varo checks his demolition charges and Blonde picks up the sniper rifle checking for a ammo clip. Kelly following the blood finds Linda leaning on a wall checking her pistol clip. "Linda" Kelly whispers Linda turns around gun drawn. "It's me" Kelly says lowering her rifle, Kelly sees Linda has a lot of wounds probably from hand to hand combat. Linda lowers her pistol and stagers towards Kelly, suddenly a Brute Stalker appears and shoots Linda in the back. "Linda no" Kelly screams raising her rifle, Linda drops to her knees and turns firing her pistol emptying the clip into the Stalkers head. Collapsing Kelly catches Linda as she falls unconscious from blood loss. Kelly tries to stop Linda's bleeding, she has several gunshots from maulers and a spike embedded in her right shoulder.


	17. Linda's Story

An explosion rocks the pelican Linda is thrown out of the Royal just as she reaches for her pack. The gravitational pull from the asteroid sucks her in towards the mining station. With no jet pack or her back pack she is free falling towards the station. As she approaches the station she sees a trio of jump pack brutes patrolling the station. Linda pulls out her right pistol and hits two of the brutes just before crashing into the third as he turns around. The impact of the hit kills the brute instantly and gives Linda a massive headache. Getting up Linda makes her way to a doorway and upon entering finds a squad of brute Stalkers inside. Linda shoots the two closets to her killing them, her clip runs out and she throws it into another's head. One of the Stalkers hits Linda with its fist breaking its hand on her helmet. Linda snaps its arm and pulls one of its grenades on its harness. Knocking the Stalker back she takes cover behind the last Stalker and the grenade explodes killing both brutes and destroying her shields. As Linda reaches down to pick up her pistol a fifth Stalker appears behind her and goes berserker slamming her into the wall. The brute presses his arm on her neck and head butts her visor breaking some of the glass. He then holds up his mauler and pumps four shots point blank into her chest. Blood flows out of Linda's mouth splattering the inside of the visor and the brutes face. Linda pulls out her knife and stabs him in the arm, the brute lets go and roars in agony and anger. Linda pulls her second pistol from her left holster and kills the brute. Falling to the ground Linda starts to gasp and pulls out her emergency med kit from her utility belt. Bandaging herself up and taking a STIM shot Linda gets back up and pulls out her sniper rifle and uses the night vision mode to see since her HUD is destroyed. Walking through the dimly lit hallways Linda turns a corner and walks straight into a trio of brute minors transporting a plasma turret. Linda shoots the first brute in the head then the second, carrying the turret, in the chest knocking it back into the third who gets off a shot from his spiker hitting Linda in the right shoulder. Falling back from the impact Linda's shoulder shoots pain throughout her entire body. Sitting up Linda kills the last brute just as a War Chieftain and his body guards round a far corner. Reloading Linda drop four of the body guards just as the others reach her. Pulling out her dual pistols she takes out two more of the body guards and then a third just as it fires its mauler into her thigh. Screaming in pain Linda clutches her leg in agony as the Chieftain brings his hammer down on her. Linda doges the first swing then the second and empties her clip into its swinging arm. The War Chieftain drops the hammer and pulls out a mauler, firing it into her left arm and shoulder. Linda pulls out her knife and stabs the War Chieftain in his leg dropping him to his knees. Picking the hammer up with his other hand the War Chieftain is about to swing when Linda stabs it in the gut and ripping the knife up to his neck. After the War Chieftain collapses Linda gives herself the last two STIMs and uses the remaining bandages. Standing up Linda holsters her right pistol and starts limping down the hallway heaving and dripping blood from her wounds and mouth. Heading down the corridor the War Chieftain came from Linda stops to catch her breath and checks her wounds which have all bled through the bandages and are not stopping. Noticing the blood is black not red a pair of footsteps faintly echo down the hallway behind her. Reloading her pistol Linda turns around to see Kelly standing there with her helmet flashlight blinding Linda as she staggers towards her.


	18. Chapter 17

"Kelly she is going to die if she doesn't get proper medical attention" says Kayla in Kelly's head. Kelly dragged Linda back to the others just as Fred started to wake up. "what happened to her" asks Varo as Kelly pulls Linda up to them, Blonde immediately throws her and Varo's med-kits to Kelly and kneels down next to Kelly. After a few minutes and three empty med-kits Kelly, Blonde and Varo are able to stop Linda's bleeding. Carrying Linda the ODSTs follow Kelly and Fred as they head farther into the station. Reaching the stations reactor the doors open and a hail of plasma bolts and distinctive MA5C gunfire shoot through the doorway. "Friendlies" yells someone inside, "hey Spartans is that you" yells the same voice.

"Sandman is that you" yells Varo

"Hero I thought you were dead" yells Sandman

"thanks… can we come in" yells Varo

"you shall not pass" yelled a distinctively Unggoy voice followed by a burst of plasma bolts.

"its ok they're with me" said Sandman

"um ok you may enter" yelled the Unggoy. The Spartans and ODSTs entered the Reactor, they were greeted by Sandman, Ramirez with bandages on her head and arm and a trio of Unggoy Ultras with plasma rifles. Lying Fred against a wall Kelly help Blonde with Linda as Varo leaves and starts to place demolition charges on the reactor core. "hey why you doing that were still in here" yells one of the grunts

"we won't be for long" says Varo activating the charges.

"hey bossman tell him to stop" one of the grunts says tugging on Sandman's belt

"Varo why don't you not do that… these fellas have already been through enough" Varo turns to Sandman and stares at him through his blue visor. "Hey guys Hero here is in a bad mood so let's not piss him off okay" Sandman says to the grunts. One of the grunts trots over to Kelly who is lying next to Linda, he begins poking Linda with his rifle "hey I thought Demons couldn't die" he says slightly disappointed. He turns to Kelly "I didn't know Demons were girls either" he adds sitting down, "all girls are Demons" says another grunt sitting down next to him. Everyone laughed at that including Blonde, "so why are three grunts here alone at an abandoned mining facility crawling with brutes" asks Kelly.

"we are here with the Councilor, he's a Sangheili and really mean" says the third grunt sitting down next to Kelly "ya he won't let us do anything its always… grunts do this or do that" says the first grunt. "But he did give us these plasma rifles, since we were still loyal to the hinge-heads" the second says showing Kelly his rifle.

"a Councilor I thought they were all dead" says Kelly

"no he's the last left though, he escaped with us and a bunch of other hinge-heads and a pair of Hunters" says the second

"ya we were on guard duty patrolling the hangar when they showed up" says the third fiddling with his rifle. "They said they needed a ship, but we weren't allowed to let any leave our sight" said the first

"so we went with them, we thought we would come back with the dropship but they landed on a carrier and left" said the second

"somehow the Flood got on the ship so we abandoned it and we've been stuck on this asteroid ever since" said the third. The third grunt accidentally fired his plasma rifle shooting the ground next to the other two, they screamed and dove to the ground "what the heck, we could have been killed" said the first grunt getting up. The other grunt ran away to the far side of the reactor hiding behind Sandman. Suddenly they heard brutes talking out in the hallway, Kelly, Fred and the ODSTs stacked up on the door while the grunts hid behind the control console like earlier. "The blood leads this way Captain" says a brute directly outside the reactor, "then enter… a wounded Demon is no match for us" says the brute Captain. Two brute ultras enter the reactor, Kelly shoots one and tackles the other while the ODSTs and Fred open fire on the other brutes. "fall back" cries the Brute Captain but it is to late the remaining Brutes are slaughtered in the cross fire as he and three others escape. "we shall be back Demons the Prophets of Candor and Supposition demand your blood" roars the brute Captain as they retreat. "we need to move" says Sandman

"you think" says Varo, Kelly and Fred grab Linda and they move out following the grunts and ODSTs. "Hey can you take us to the Councilor" asks Kelly to the grunts

"sure he's at the blessed warehouse with the others, he told us to reactivate the reactor but the brutes showed up so we hid" replies a grunt as they move to the head of the group. Reaching an intersection the grunts stop for a moment "hey is it this way or that way" one asks, "that way" says one

"no that way" says the other. The two start fighting as the third quietly leads the others in the third and correct direction. "Hey wait up" the grunts cry as they get up and chase after them. Upon reaching the blessed warehouse they find a dead hunter and several elites lying around a barricade, a small team of brute jump packs are also there and the Spartans, ODSTs and grunts make quick work of them. Entering the blessed warehouse they find the lone hunter as well as a group of elites including 'Sraom inside. "Demons" cries an elite

"it is okay they are our allies" says 'Sraom, slowly the elites lower their weapons and let them pass into the blessed warehouse. They find 'Taham, a large group of Zealots and the Councilor arguing about something in Sangheili. "Commander" Fred nods towards 'Taham "Councilor" he adds to the Councilor. Most of the Zealots are armed with either single or dual plasma rifles and all of them have an energy sword. "ah Demons you are searching for your ships no doubt" says the elder Councilor, he carried dual energy swords and a human sniper rifle on his back. "A trophy?" the Councilor asks noticing Fred plasma repeater

"no it was liberated from a brute phantom along with its brethren" Fred says pulling out the plasma repeater and spinning it up. The Zealots seem unwary of this "calm down my brothers the Demon is no threat to us" says the Councilor calming the Zealots, "I found this rifle in an abandoned… warthog I believe you call it… on one of your colony worlds as we glassed its surface" says the Councilor "I was promoted afterwards and here I am" he adds.

"our Intel says that all of the Sangheili Councilors were killed on High Charity during the Great Schism" Kelly says

"no I am the last, I overheard the Prophet of Truth's conspiracy and took as many of my Brothers as I could find and escaped in a Carrier, I was going to warn my Council members but it was too late" the Councilor says with sorrow.

"so what happened the grunts say the ship was overrun with Flood" asks Kelly,

"yes a group of Flood somehow boarded the ship, I along with those you see before you escaped and landed here" the Councilor says "we were going to regroup with the Arbiter at Earth… many of our brothers and friends died on that ship. Some of my best men volunteered to overload the reactor and destroy the ship as we escaped"

"I Covenant Carrier crashed on earth and an outbreak occurred, we were barely able to contain it" Varo interrupts

"unfortunately they were unable and the ship went into slipspace" the Councilor finishes. Suddenly an explosion rocks the station the Zealots roar draw their weapons and charge out the door to the barricade "the Brutes they are assaulting the warehouse" yells an elite on the radio. "Councilor we must get you to safety" 'Taham says crossing the room to the Councilor "I will not abandon my men" the Councilor then walks over to a human crate with UNSC labels on it and rips open the top "we found this alongside the warthog" the Councilor says pulling out a AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun. Carrying the HMG out to the barricade the Councilor turns "there is a weapons cache in another crate feel free" Kelly walks over to the other UNSC crate and opens it up to reveal a stack of resupply canisters each with either a M7/Caseless Submachine Gun, BR55 Battle Rifle, M90 Shotgun, SRS99C-S2 AM, or M19 Rocket Launcher. Nearly empty Kelly takes the BR55 Battle Rifle, Fred takes the M19 Rocket Launcher and the ODSTs take the M7 SMGs, M90 shotgun and sniper rifle. Leaving the warehouse the humans and grunts aid the Sangheili in repelling the brute assault. "Councilor we must fall back" cries 'Sraom engaging in hand to hand combat with two brutes. The Councilor, 'Taham and his Zealots reluctantly fall back while the hunter, grunts, humans and 'Sraom cover them. "Ramirez I need a grenade" yells Sandman from behind a barricade, Ramirez steps out of cover kills three brutes charging her drops her empty MA5C pulls out her M6/SOCOM kills three more turns pulls out her M7 SMG dual wields then drops her empty M7 crouches reloads her M6/SOCOM and pulls out a grenade. She pulls the pin and tosses it to Sandman but a brute gets a lucky hit and hits Ramirez in the back of the head with his fist. Dropping the grenade in the middle of the defense line Ramirez slumps over just as Sandman finishes reloading "grenade" he yells killing the brute. Sandman jumps on top of the grenade and it explodes killing him. "Sandman no… fall back, fall back" yells Varo. Blonde stops firing and pulls the unconscious Ramirez into the warehouse as Fred flips a berserking brute and crushes its head with his boot. The Spartan begin falling back as Varo, 'Sraom and the hunter cover them. The hunter and the grunts who had just finished mauling a single brute to death retreat living 'Sraom and Varo to cover them. 'Sraom's rifle runs out just as a charging brute gets passed the barricade, the brute fires his spiker and misses. With both of their weapons empty they through them at each other, the brute goes for his mauler but 'Sraom takes his helmet off and throws it at the brute then leaps on top of him and repeatedly stab it with his energy daggers. Getting up and pulling out his plasma pistol he begins dropping brutes trying to climb over the barricade. "I have this human flee I will cover you" 'Sraom says throwing a plasma grenade sticking a brute. After the grenade explodes a massive chain explosion give them a few seconds to catch their breath. "what and leave all this" says Varo dropping a brute "I'm already at fifty" he says dropping another.

"humans always counting their trophies, the Master Chief lost count after five hundred and still he slaughtered them" 'Sraom says charging his pistol and firing at a brute Captain Major. Varo and 'Sraom go back to back killing brutes left and right defending the others as they escaped "they must head to the Temple, the Citadel is not safe" yells 'Sraom over the gunfire. As the warehouse doors open Varo throws 'Sraom through the door "tell them yourself" he yells "Sraom looks at Varo and sees several spikes are protruding out of him. A group of brutes then charge Varo his MA5C and M7 SMG are empty, he pins a grenade takes out his knife and charges them just as the warehouse doors close and two Zealots seal them closed. A Zealot cuts through another already sealed and the Councilor, 'Taham, 'Sraom, the Spartans and ODSTs escape while the grunts, Zealots and hunter stay behind to hold off the brutes. Charging through the station flying around corners and gunning down brutes the group eventually reaches the temple and kill the two brutes guarding the door. Entering the temple they restock on plasma rifles, pistols and other Sangheili weapons before heading to the docking bay where the two UNSC ships have docked. Reaching the docking bay first Kelly kills the trio of brutes with her newly acquired plasma rifle, as the others reach the docking bay Kelly opens the door leading to the UNSC Paris and a swarm of Flood burst through the opening. The Sangheili and ODSTs, carrying Linda, retreat to the nearby hangar while Fred covers them. Kelly who is swarmed by Flood is able to escape as the Flood cannot break through the armor. Joining Fred she throws a grenade which causes an explosion and the docking bay is depressurized. Kelly is sucked out into space while Fred grabs the wall and pulls himself to safety. The explosion damaged both the Paris and Redoubtable and both ships crash into each other and then into the asteroid causing a massive explosion. Kelly survives and fights the remaining Flood in zero grav as the Covenant Cruiser flies overhead and rescues Kelly with its gravity lift.


	19. Chapter 18

Fred hugged the wall the docking bay was depressurized and sucking everything out into space. He saw Kelly get blown out when the explosion happened but couldn't reach her on the radio. "Kelly… Kelly are you listening… Kelly!" he cried pulling himself out of the corridor into a security checkpoint office. Closing the door he was able to reach the computer and seal the docking bay from the rest of the station re-pressurizing the corridor. Stepping out he headed to the nearby hangar only a few minutes away. Reaching the hangar the others were loading on to the Decent when they noticed both the Paris and Redoubtable had crashed into the surface. "Where's Kelly" asked Ramirez coming to, Fred lowered his head "she didn't make it" he replied. Suddenly a loud explosion rang out, 'Taham and 'Sraom got the Councilor inside just as two of the grunts and the hunter burst through the door and ran for the phantom with at least two dozen angry brutes right behind them. The ODSTs dragged Linda into the ship just as the grunts reached the phantom. Jumping into the phantom one of the grunts manned the door gun, a plasma turret, and began covering the others while the other grabbed a pair of grenades and charged the brutes. "you killed him" he cried as several of the minor brutes turned and ran "blood demands blood" he cried realizing the grenades committing suicide. A majority of the brutes were killed in the explosion but the remaining went berserker and charge Fred and the lone grunt. As the phantom lifted up Fred standing just next to the grunt was thrown back, landing inside the troop bay of the phantom just as a brute chieftain climbed in and roared. The grunt was able to shoot the brute but its shields protected it and he threw the poor grunt out of the phantom with a quick swing of its hammer. Fred sat up and began shooting it as Sandman and Ramirez stepped up to protected him. The Chieftain took three steps forward and had smashed Sandman with its right arm throwing him out of the phantom. Ramirez drew her knife and charged but with a swing of his hammer killed Ramirez who was also sent flying out of the ship. The bay doors began to close and as the Chieftain picked up Fred its chest practically exploded from a sniper rifle shot. Dropping Fred the Chieftain looked down at what was its chest then as it looked at Fred its head exploded and its body fell out of the phantom as the bay doors closed. Looking back Fred saw Linda had fired the shot using her sniper rifle Blonde left next to her. Linda nodded to Fred, coughed clutching her chest then passed out again dropping the rifle. Blonde and 'Sraom came out of the cockpit weapons drawn "where are the others" 'Sraom said, they must not of heard due to the zero grav. Fred looked towards the bay door "They're gone" he said under his breath.

Kelly was quickly disarmed the moment she landed on the Cruiser. A large group of brutes had surrounded her and taken her weapons. They dragged her through the ship heavily armed passing angry brutes who would like nothing more than to rip her apart. Entering the bridge the brutes released her and retreated back into the corridor. "but sir the Demon cannot be trusted it allied itself with the heretics it must be killed" roared a brute outside the door.

"come down my disciple the Demon will not harm us it can be reasoned with I assure you" said a non-brute voice. When the doors opened two Prophets along with a War Chieftain and his body guards entered "leave us" said the same Prophet

"but sir"

"do not question our judgment!" exclaimed the other Prophet. The Chieftain and his body guards quietly left giving small nods the each Prophet as they passed. The two Prophets the turned towards Kelly, "I am the holy Prophet of Candor and this is my second the Prophet of Supposition" the second Prophet nodded "we are here to inquire you" Kelly remains quiet

"we understand that you have been to the ark" the Prophet begins "we wish to now if your kind has colonized it or has quarantined it in any way" Kelly had no idea what they were talking about. Suddenly Kayla showed on the HUD the battle report of the battle of installation 00, "it would be best to answer the holy Prophet" the Prophet of Supposition remarked

"now come down Supposition let the Demon talk" said the Prophet of Candor calming Supposition. "I destroyed the ark" Kelly said after reading the report, "me and the Arbiter" she added. The Prophet of Supposition became furious "you heretic you parasitical worm you…" suddenly his head exploded "I'm sure you're wondering why I brought you hear" the Prophet of Candor said dropping his mauler "such a filthy weapon but never the less effective" he added.

The Phantom landed on the hull of the Cruiser and Fred and Blonde jumped out. "we will remain in the ship if you need us" 'Sraom said over the radio as the phantom lifted off. They had a hard time convincing the Councilor not to join them as he was a high valued target and they couldn't risk losing him. Reaching the side of the ship they vertically walked down the hull into the hangar which had opened to release a group of Seraphs probably for a routine patrol. "I'll call it in" Fred whispered over the radio "Decent a flight of Seraphs have just left the hangar" Fred and Blonde jumped into the hangar and landed hard on the ground "understood" 'Sraom said over the radio. Blonde and Fred quickly recovered and hid behind a damaged Seraph under repairs. "where are the Huragok when you need them" a brute angrily shouted after dropping something. A pair of brute ultras were attempting to repair the Seraph to no avail. A majority of the ships in the hangar were in need of extensive repairs and the brutes had neither the experience or patience to maintain them. Fred pulled out his dual knifes and quietly took out both brutes. Dragging the bodies into the Seraph Fred and Blonde realized they were the only brutes in the hangar. Moving though the hangar Fred and Blonde put explosive on the still functional aircraft and refueling tanks. Heading further into the ship they quietly executed multiple brute patrols until they reached the bridge.

"I am not interested in beginning the Great Journey" the Prophet began. "I already know what the true purpose of the rings are, I only wish to find the remaining shield worlds and using the technology inside them create a new empire" he said with confidence "humans can replace the brutes and elite,s your leaders can be our leaders your soldier our soldiers. We will rule the galaxy like the Forerunners before us and the Precursors before them" he paused to see Kelly's reaction he was unimpressed "you reject my idea" he said furiously "you and your people allied with mine all others bow to us and you refuse" he shouted "when the Forerunners waged war with the Precursors we were allies our people fought and bled and died together" he roared into Kelly's visor "the brutes were mercenaries fighting on both sides and the elites sided with the Forerunners, they're not your allies they betrayed you and I" he spat at her "all I wish is peace between old allies and you dare to refuse me" he roared. "fine a will forge and empire with the brutes and maybe even the elites and we will wage war on you pathetic humans, I will spare none and you all will burn with the fire of…" suddenly shouting and gunfire echoes through the hallway and into the bridge. "another… there is another" a brute shouted, "a Demon has come to rescue its ally" the brute roared charging into the bridge. The brute lifted its spiker up to shoot Kelly "no" cried the Prophet shielding Kelly, but before it could fire the brute spat out blood and collapsed bullet hole riddled its back. Turning the Prophet reached for the mauler lying on the ground but it was not there? Looking up the Prophet of Candor saw in his rage and fury Kelly and stolen the mauler and hid it behind her back. With a shocked expression the Prophet stared into the golden visor of the Demon as she pulled the trigger. One…two…three times she fired hitting the Prophet dead in the chest. Flying across the room like a rag doll the heap of flesh that was Candor landed at the feet of Fred and Blonde who had just entered the bridge. Dropping the mauler Kelly stepped out of the shadows covered in fresh blood, her armored stained with chunks of the Prophet. "I'll explain later" Kelly said picking up a needler from the corpse of the Prophet of Supposition. Fighting back to the hangar Fred, Blonde and Kelly were nearly out of plasma bolts in both their rifles and pistols. The Decent flew into the hangar and the Councilor and 'Sraom jumped out covering the others as the climbed aboard. Flying back out Blonde detonated the explosives and the middle of the Cruiser exploded.


End file.
